Related
This is a serious question although I appreciate it could be taken as a troll.
Should Microsoft start again with their mobile OS? I know why they have kept compatability with older software but I personally think this is hurting them more than throwing away backwards compatability.
Look at the iPhone - that started from scratch and has grown to prominence without any back catalog of software.
Cheers, Rob.
Looks like its beginning to reach game-over stauts for M$ IMO. It feels like it did when Palm went down. Sorry to say, but I'm beginning my investigation into Android.
Exchange Server
Hi all
I use an exchange server provider and I find it's features really useful, not just on my mobile, but in MS Outlook 2007, in fact much more so on the PC. Because there are few equivalent services that I can get for the same price that would be compatible with both PC software and a mobile device, I am essentially tied to Microsoft products for the time being. MS have done very well at preventing 3rd party PIM clients accessing the full services of an exchange server.
Google are in the process of offering a full exchange service via Google Sync. If they are successful in this (which they clearly will be) then they are really only one step away from offering their own exchange type server which will be natively compatible with?? Android of course.
I would consider switching from WM to another OS if:
1. That OS could access the full services based on an MS Exchange server.
OR
2. There were comparable alternatives to a remote MS Exchange server system which could be accessed from the device.
In fact, Windows Mobile 6.5 can't access all the features of an Exchange server (e.g. being able to set specific Follow up reminder dates & times for emails and viewing other users calendars, etc.). So actually, an alternative system doesn't need to beat MS Outlook, it just needs to beat the feature limited WM 6.5 Pocket Outlook.
Sorry for the ramble but I can't see many large companies switching to Android if their employees can't accept a meeting request OTA!
In answer to the original question, yes, MS REALLY should start again with Windows Mobile and this time make sure users are able to access all the features of an MS exchange server OTA.
Cheers
andrew-in-woking
From what I've read on the developers Blogs the WM7 framework is entirely different to 6x.. so most of them are concentrating on this.. appararently the performance is at least doubled (this wasn't an MS fanboy). I do assume though that MS will do all they can to be backwards compatible .. the howl that happened on Palm will be nothing as to the reaction should MS completely leave their userbase high & dry. Yes Apple scored well by timing their entry into the market perfectly.. but they risk being trapped in exactly the same way by advances in technology.
I don't think it's game over in any direction just yet.. MS simply dosn't give up and there is absolutely nothing similar in the way Palm ran itself into the ground.. Obviuosly the media is a huge cheerleasder for both Google & Apple - for some reason believing these guys are in some way cool, uncommerical, funloving dudes who are only interested in the love..
look guys, some years passed by, and ONLY thing m$ wants to say to us is:
let's make smartphones, AGAIN.
pda's as mobile comps are DEAD.
f your 6.5 and rich kids.
f android and their feeble ****oozas.
xoen / nothin
Sleuth255 said:
Looks like its beginning to reach game-over stauts for M$ IMO. It feels like it did when Palm went down. Sorry to say, but I'm beginning my investigation into Android.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
omg, sleuth is going over to the dark side
btw, which droid model are you looking at?
Personally, i love WM
I agree with Andrew-in-woking. I love the ability to sync my contacts, notes, calender, music, photos, videos, and documents both ways with my computer and my phone. And, the thing I've been telling everyone is that devices supported by a company will work best with other devices supported by the same company. I've been using windows on all of my computers since I can remember, and I will only have the best phone experience if I get a windows powered phone, which would provide the best connectivity with my computer. It doesn't make sense to get an Iphone, unless you have an apple computer, in my eyes. Same with every other device. Get android if you have other devices powered by google os. Same with Samsung, sony, etc. If you start connecting devices across different companies, it will only lead to more problems, reducing the quality of your experience with that device. Those are my 2 cents.
funny how everybody is complain about windows mobile compares to iphone.
y havnt nobody complaining about crackberry to iphone?
not everybody buy a windows mobile phone and use it as a toy (iphone)
i love my Acer neotouch S200 with 1G cpu with custom 6.5 rom 23506, i'm not sure if i still want an android phone. oh, the only reason i want android phone is because of google gps navigator.
I like windows mobile the way it is, when it become's like an iphone, there is no point in using it anymore.
I'm not saying anything can't be improved, just that if it interface's like an iphone, you might as well buy an iphone which is what I suspect most people are talking about when comparing them.
Say goodbye to the usefulness of your high resolution screen's while using a child and finger friendly interface....massive icon's, text, menu's, spend half your time zooming in and out...panning etc.
andrew-in-woking said:
That OS could access the full services based on an MS Exchange server.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Isn't this becoming a non-problem with better browsers? Outlook web access is now a very feature rich JavaScript based client - won't that run from anywhere?
Cheers, Rob.
I'm using Microsoft OS for about 15-20 years. First DOS, later Windows, and in the meanwhile also WM.
I don't need to sync anything between PC and phone but I want a "full" OS, you can customize whatever you want, and I love my Win32 API. On the IPhone and Android you don't even have a file explorer without downloading an extra app right? Yes I know "you can get an App for everything." And sure IPhone is comfortable and user friendly. But it's like that because it's a consumer device and being that it's probably better than WM. But actually WM is not only a toy (for people who don't feel comfortable with the more tech stuff) - it's an OS.
I don't really understand all the bad talking about WM recently. I agree using the GUI without a stylus is a pain in the ass but as I can see more and more parts of the OS are being updated with each new 6.5 build. And what's the deal about it.... it's only the f.... GUI!!!
Microsoft won't restart at all. Their OS will go and and on just like their desktop versions did. Remember all the talking back then. OS/2 kills Windows, MAC kills Windows.... IMO nothing of that happened at all.
MS over?
Don't believe the hype Sleuth.
HTC on windows rules.
Good to see you here.
Really appreciated your uc work on my HD.
New rom from Miri, uc'ed all my settings & apps.
Hours of fun.
100,000 apps for the iPhone in it's short life. 18,000 in all of WinMo's existence. 50K on Android already. M$ had a major chance when it buried Palm but it took the iPhone to bring real innovation back. Geezuz.
WinMo market share was cut in half in the last year. M$ is no longer considered a contender in the space dominated by iPhone, RIM, Nokia and now Android.
I too like the common api. But I've seen iPhone apps that blow my socks off. Hopefully, HTC will release a killer platform for android. I need capacitive, rez and battery life.
Moto Droid is the leader here now but it can't touch HTC keyboards. Lots of room for HTC to catch up. But android 2.0 on that very same droid can turn off bt and fire up your wifi profile when you walk into the door based on its continuously updated positional awareness. Weather works the same way, using wunderground school installations from a known database to give you local weather down to the exact temp where you are standing. You can use the camera to scan a bar code in a supermarket and it'll leverage Google's claim to fame and return info/best pricing on the web for the same item.
Meanwhile, m$ can't even make a decent marketplace. They are hobbled by feature drift and don't have a security clue (see chainfire's 2hr hack just to prove the point).
I wish it were otherwise but I've seen this all before...
Phonebook
munrobasher said:
Isn't this becoming a non-problem with better browsers? Outlook web access is now a very feature rich JavaScript based client - won't that run from anywhere?
Cheers, Rob.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi Rob
You make a good point for mail and tasks but it's not quite the same as dialing directly from your cnmtacts.
Cheers
andrew-in-woking
Is this actually an issue of the OS itself? It's just market strategies and modern GUI experiences. With a good kernel (like we have with WM) it's no problem to add such features on top of it (if you just actually do it), but if you have limited kernel functionality but with the "good" GUI things on top it's harder to change the OS underneath it. I have no clue about Android yet but on the IPhone you can't even run background processes. Is Android just as flexible as the Windows kernel architecture? From what I heard I assume it's not, otherwise please proove me wrong.
The problem as you can tell it is more like Microsoft didn't care a lot about WM during the last couple years and especially HTC did what MS didn't, and now they need their time to catch up on their competitors again. But of course I'm also hoping they're doing fine with WM 7. I like the road they are going with 6.5 and if WM 7 is just like the new killer OS we're all waiting for (Windows 7 desktop isn't too bad neither right?) then why do you need your Apple and Google anymore???
FTTB, I'll probably get a Tilt 2 for hardware reasons. The iPhone is too restrictive for my tweaking tastes (although being a part of the jailbreak community would be fun) and no killer hardware for Android exists yet.
m$ needs a wake-up call. The mobile world is passing it by. This time next year (when I need another new gizmo) will be interesting. My predictions go with Android because Google has the information. Gathering it is what they do. Heck, the current navigation app on Android leverages the Google maps data for for actual image based turn by turn instruction. Impressive and always up to date.
In my attempt to get the most out of my WM powered device (HD2) i could not help realizing that windows mobile is not among the targets of big software names like Yahoo, Skype, Fring, Google and what's more intereseting not even by Microsoft...
Take for exemple Google... it has it's Android... and the thing that it is best at is integrating anything google related into android phones: mail, calendar, contacts, photos, maps... you name it.... and they do this out of the box... and with the best user experience keeping the looks of the web based counterparts...
Yahoo and Skype... they both have IM clients for Android, Iphone, Symbian, Blackberry... but NOT windows mobile... WHY?...
Fring is perfect with anything but WM
Iphone and Android are so new on the market yet everybody supports it asap.
As for Microsoft you would've expected at least to integrate their own apps into windows phones... but they don't... They have the live app wich integrates messenger, contacts and mail... but not in the best way... I would've liked to see something to directly make a space entry from your phone's interface, to directly publish a photo or to send a file to skydrive... to have calendar synced at its full web potential... i know you have the exchange emulation like google but what about alternate calendars...
Bing is another thing... we have to install it your self instead of beeing fully integrated into your windows phone....
So the question is how come WM lost terrain being that it is the oldest on the market and has such a computing power in support of it (I guess we all agree that MS is a giant)?....
WM was designed for business, hence why it has excellent integration with exchange email/calendar/contacts/etc. It also has the PDA version of office built in.
Skype works on WM6.5, there's a thread on it in the HD2 section.
You can set up your yahoo/google/hotmail accounts in seconds on it.
MS were slow (and looking at WP7 they're going backwards) on the mobile market, back when they started the market was for pocket PCs, people wanted a version of their desktop computer which could be carried in their hand, so making the interface similar was what people were after.
They didn't consider the consumer market really and got complacent. WM did the job it was designed for, which most of their customers wanted, so why change?
Then the mobile market took off, other manufacturers such as HTC took advantage of the business design of WM and created user interfaces such as TF3D/Sense. SPB have also created an excellent interface called Mobile Shell 3.5, I recommend installing the trial version and giving it a go.
MS didn't have much in the way of a development team behind WM, there was no perceived need, and it has no "cool" image to go with it, so there's a small market share, hence the lack of "Times Online" type apps for it while the iPhone is supported.
Why on earth would you want to install Bing though?
xaccers said:
WM was designed for business, hence why it has excellent integration with exchange email/calendar/contacts/etc. It also has the PDA version of office built in.
Skype works on WM6.5, there's a thread on it in the HD2 section.
You can set up your yahoo/google/hotmail accounts in seconds on it.
MS were slow (and looking at WP7 they're going backwards) on the mobile market, back when they started the market was for pocket PCs, people wanted a version of their desktop computer which could be carried in their hand, so making the interface similar was what people were after.
They didn't consider the consumer market really and got complacent. WM did the job it was designed for, which most of their customers wanted, so why change?
Then the mobile market took off, other manufacturers such as HTC took advantage of the business design of WM and created user interfaces such as TF3D/Sense. SPB have also created an excellent interface called Mobile Shell 3.5, I recommend installing the trial version and giving it a go.
MS didn't have much in the way of a development team behind WM, there was no perceived need, and it has no "cool" image to go with it, so there's a small market share, hence the lack of "Times Online" type apps for it while the iPhone is supported.
Why on earth would you want to install Bing though?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is exactly why Microsoft has utterly failed in the mobile space. People DO NOT want their desktop PC in their pocket. They just want a subset of their desktop, plus all the advantages that a mobile device offers. Apps, location awareness, always-on connectivity, etc. Nobody cares if you can edit a spreadsheet on your phone. Why would you want to do this in the first place?
Microsoft has failed to deliver anything "new" to the mobile space, and watched Google and Apple completely dominate the smartphone market. And Windows Phone 7? Another doomed failure from Redmond. It took them 4 years to copy Apple. Even RIM has better developer support than Microsoft...
Speaking of RIM, I think it's safe to say that Windows Mobile as a business platform has been a failure since the monochrome Blackberry days. RIM has been dominating there for quite a while.
So where is it that Windows Mobile fits in? Another me-too iPhone wanna be, or maybe the #2 or #3 business-oriented smart-phone OS? Meh...
xaccers said:
Why on earth would you want to install Bing though?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't! but it was a clear example of not integrating even their own software out of the box...
as for the rest... one of the sides of the question was why the others are not considering WM as a viable platform to deliver their products?... all WM just have to find third party apps or "workarrounds" for them to work...
ccezar2004 said:
one of the sides of the question was why the others are not considering WM as a viable platform to deliver their products?... all WM just have to find third party apps or "workarrounds" for them to work...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Here's the funny part:
Microsoft tried to BRIBE iPhone developers to port their apps for Windows Mobile. The result? Most said "go screw, your platform sucks."
That pretty much sums it up... They can't even get people working on Windows Mobile by paying them. .NET is a decent foundation, but development for a mobile device requires the right tools for the job. Plus, being 4 years behind the curve, it's going to be hard for M$ to get critical mass at this point.
The shocking thing is, they already have a successful product with a healthy developer community: The X-Box. Why they didn't look to that team for inspiration is beyond me...
Honestly, they should just give up. Most former WM people I know switched to Android long ago. I don't see any reviewers or users tripping over themselves to get the next Microsoft phone like they do for the next iPhone, Blackberry, Android, etc. Same goes for Zune and numerous other Microsoft train wrecks.
Windows Phone 7 will turn out to be just as lackluster as 6.5 - which is a good thing, because Android could use a few more users
HamNCheese said:
This is exactly why Microsoft has utterly failed in the mobile space. People DO NOT want their desktop PC in their pocket. They just want a subset of their desktop, plus all the advantages that a mobile device offers. Apps, location awareness, always-on connectivity, etc. Nobody cares if you can edit a spreadsheet on your phone. Why would you want to do this in the first place?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I said "wanted" although many, including myself, still do.
It's the reason why WM is being renamed WMC rather than being dropped, because there are so many users out there who require a hand held versatile computer and WM does that job exceptionally well.
White collar business users need something well established which can edit office documents, seamlessly and reliably sync with their email system. They also want something flashy with an impressive screen. WM answers these needs perfectly.
The great unwashed want just the things you mentioned, in a handset which wows their friends and gains them kudos. WM can wow people, but it will never have the "coolness" of an iPhone, nor will android.
Will we see another WM phone? There's talk of a business version of WP7 which may be close but most likely not as good. Perhaps if when WP7 goes the way of Kin they'll sack the whole team and go back to WM.
RIM have a headstart on office phones because they answered a need which MS ignored, as they were too into letting manufacturers decide what the devices should be. Like the iPhone, most people/businesses go with RIM not because it's the most suitable for their needs, but because other people use it. Blackberrys are clunky, unreliable, awkward to use and a PITA to support.
xaccers said:
I said "wanted" although many, including myself, still do.
It's the reason why WM is being renamed WMC rather than being dropped, because there are so many users out there who require a hand held versatile computer and WM does that job exceptionally well.
White collar business users need something well established which can edit office documents, seamlessly and reliably sync with their email system. They also want something flashy with an impressive screen. WM answers these needs perfectly.
The great unwashed want just the things you mentioned, in a handset which wows their friends and gains them kudos. WM can wow people, but it will never have the "coolness" of an iPhone, nor will android.
Will we see another WM phone? There's talk of a business version of WP7 which may be close but most likely not as good. Perhaps if when WP7 goes the way of Kin they'll sack the whole team and go back to WM.
RIM have a headstart on office phones because they answered a need which MS ignored, as they were too into letting manufacturers decide what the devices should be. Like the iPhone, most people/businesses go with RIM not because it's the most suitable for their needs, but because other people use it. Blackberrys are clunky, unreliable, awkward to use and a PITA to support.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So let me get this straight... Android, which is out-selling the iPhone at the moment, has failed to "wow" users? And Windows Phone 7 will "wow' who?
If RIM is beating them on Business applications, and the iPhone is killing them on "coolness" - how does Windows Mobile stand a chance?
Frankly, Roz Ho (and that whole team) should be fired. The whole Project Pink / Kin debacle shows exactly how little they understand the mobile market. The acquisition of Danger was one of the worst moves in the long run - all it did was bring pain and suffering to the employees and users.
HamNCheese said:
So let me get this straight... Android, which is out-selling the iPhone at the moment, has failed to "wow" users? And Windows Phone 7 will "wow' who?
If RIM is beating them on Business applications, and the iPhone is killing them on "coolness" - how does Windows Mobile stand a chance?
Frankly, Roz Ho (and that whole team) should be fired. The whole Project Pink / Kin debacle shows exactly how little they understand the mobile market. The acquisition of Danger was one of the worst moves in the long run - all it did was bring pain and suffering to the employees and users.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I didn't say android didn't "wow" users, I said it won't have the "coolness" of an iPhone. iPhone is more a fashion item than a smartphone for most people, Apple have spent an absolute fortune building that "cool" image of their products. We know they suck, and android/WM is more customisable/better features/functions, but the great unwashed don't care about that, they just want to be able to show they're "cool" (lame) because they have an iPhone. Someone's already posted elsewhere that his aunt assumed his phone wasn't very good because it wasn't an iPhone.
Android, being an OS and in a similar way to WM, isn't the phone. The combination of the OS and the hardware makes a great phone, such as WM6.5 and the HD2, or the android equivalent. Put the OS on a crappy phone and it's not going to wow anyone. Android have been successful because they have the apps/games that non-sheep want, and its available on cheap phones. I hope they continue to eat away at Apple's share of the market, and continue to improve rather than end up taking a backwards step and following Apple/WP7. Of course, history is littered with the remains of better products which just haven't sold enough (betamax, hydropnumatic suspension, HD-DVD, Amy Studt albums).
RIM are only beating WM through their business model. Once a company has started using BES it's pretty much trapped, it doesn't make financial sense to change, they've paid for the hardware and the licences so they might as well keep using them even if there's a more reliable, functional and cheaper alternative.
In companies, in the UK at least, most people responsible for IT expenditure turn to external companies for advice or decide because they've read something in a magazine that their competitor is using.
External IT companies will have their own preferences for what they suggest; profitability, previous experience, acceptability to business.
Take one of the companies I support who've had years of trouble with blackberrys, they've recently changed network because they were fed up with the handset problems. They've got 40 handsets, that's a lot of money invested in something which often doesn't work. They're still having problems, ironically with the senior managers' handsets which isn't going down well. The users with their own WM handsets set up to sync with the exchange server have never had a problem. Until I arrived on the scene they had no idea there were alternatives.
MS have not pushed the abilities of WM, that's been their biggest failing. They've never acted like they take their handheld OSs seriously. Instead they concentrated on the more lucrative desktop and server business.
At the moment all my bile is being saved for Ray Ozzie (especially after finding out he's the asshat behind Lotus Notes) so I can't spare any for Roz (besides, she's kinda cute).
W7 seems to wow no one of any worth. It looks like it was designed by a new parent after buying their kid duplo bricks
I suppose it could be argued that some of us a "wowed" as to how bad it is.
This thread is degenerating into something else... Therefore I'm closing it.
Message to the OP... Chiar trebuie sa intrebi de ce ? Nu e clar ca Iphone si Android domnia marketu' deacum ? Noi, aici la xda, ne tinem cu dintzii de o epava care se scufunda, dar.. asta e...
With Windows 8 and Surface coming out soon and the fact that I've enjoyed Windows 8 on my laptop and it's new ecosystem, I think I may dump Android for WP8.
I know the biggest thing to come up is Apps. Android apps I use on a daily basis or ones I really like are:
Flipboard
Google Reader
Google Maps (and navigation)
YouTube (Official App)
I am tied into the Google ecosystem for my contacts and google services and I know they can be converted to a Microsoft Account. But, I do have a Windows Phone 7 as my work phone and while I love the OS much more than Android, I love the above mentioned apps much more on the droid. I've tried the third party Reader and YouTube apps and they just don't measure up. But I am also ready for one ecosystem and since I already have an XBOX and a Microsoft shop at home, I am ready to go all Microsoft for my mobile world. But so want my apps!
Anyone else face this quandary?
garak0410 said:
With Windows 8 and Surface coming out soon and the fact that I've enjoyed Windows 8 on my laptop and it's new ecosystem, I think I may dump Android for WP8.
I know the biggest thing to come up is Apps. Android apps I use on a daily basis or ones I really like are:
Flipboard
Google Reader
Google Maps (and navigation)
YouTube (Official App)
I am tied into the Google ecosystem for my contacts and google services and I know they can be converted to a Microsoft Account. But, I do have a Windows Phone 7 as my work phone and while I love the OS much more than Android, I love the above mentioned apps much more on the droid. I've tried the third party Reader and YouTube apps and they just don't measure up. But I am also ready for one ecosystem and since I already have an XBOX and a Microsoft shop at home, I am ready to go all Microsoft for my mobile world. But so want my apps!
Anyone else face this quandary?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you need to decide what you can do without more.
Personally I don't give too hoots about the apps on any platform which then leave the OS choice its self as the main reason for change, and hence why im on WP7 as well.
If I were you I would consider this, those apps you talk about have alternatives on WP7, so its not like its completely missing, so the question you need to ask yourself is this, is the overall OS and general phone features of WP more important than half a dozen apps that are still available to WP but not quite as youd want?
in my humble opinion again, a WP device is a phone first device, everything else is secondary inc apps.
dazza9075 said:
you need to decide what you can do without more.
Personally I don't give too hoots about the apps on any platform which then leave the OS choice its self as the main reason for change, and hence why im on WP7 as well.
If I were you I would consider this, those apps you talk about have alternatives on WP7, so its not like its completely missing, so the question you need to ask yourself is this, is the overall OS and general phone features of WP more important than half a dozen apps that are still available to WP but not quite as youd want?
in my humble opinion again, a WP device is a phone first device, everything else is secondary inc apps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, I understand the apps arguments. If there isn't an app, I can always use the browser. And I really don't care that I have every Angry Birds edition. But it is important to me that the platform is shown some love. I can't imagine why it is so hard for Yahoo! to release a Fantasy Football App for example. It is much easier to use in an app than in a mobile browser.
As mentioned, I have Verizon's one and only Windows Phone for work, the HTC Trophy. It is very lackluster hardware but I am able to get my WP7 fix. I just don't find myself using it much, mainly because I really don't like carrying two devices (often just forward the number to my personal phone.) I took your advice and looked for good, alternative apps:
PrimeTube: Prime tube seems to work quite well as my YouTube app. The Android YouTube app is pretty good but I was quite surprised with this app as it may surpass the Android App. Nice Work.
NextGen Reader: A passable Google Reader app. Kind of generic looking but it does the job. The small screen of the Trophy doesn't help so I imagine it will look good on a larger phone. The mobile web page for Google Reader isn't a bad option either.
Those are the only two I found. I do enjoy playing Madden 12 from time to time on my Android devices. The YouVersion Bible app is good but it is lacking the LIVE notes option.
My next step is to try out navigation on WP7 to see how is measures up with Google Maps. Going on a trip in a few weeks, so will test it. I will also try merging my Google contacts with my live account to see how I like the cloud services that MS offers.
I am also a long time ZunePass subscriber. I am disappointed at the lack of playlist options for streaming music. It if becomes more like Spotify, Microsoft will have a hit on their hands here.
Again, I want WP to succeed but I also don't want to ditch what I am comfortable with. I have a few months until Surface and WP8 are released. We will see what happens when that time comes.
I have a 64gb and cover on preorder, and should get it by Friday. Every day I have been Googling the latest Microsoft Surface and app store news and I am totally frustrated about the lack of info out there regarding the apps and other news other than the comparisons to Apple , blah blah blah I don't have the ability to load a preview of Win 8 or desire to go through the hassle,
Either Microsoft is very good about keeping the media at bay, or there is very little info or activity going on regarding App development. Is there a current App count and list somewhere of what's been developed and what's in the works. Last count I heard MS was at about 3600 US apps last week, but were expected to hit the 5k goal. So what's the latest.
Exciting and frustrating at the same time.
guitar1969 said:
I have a 64gb and cover on preorder, and should get it by Friday. Every day I have been Googling the latest Microsoft Surface and app store news and I am totally frustrated about the lack of info out there regarding the apps and other news other than the comparisons to Apple , blah blah blah I don't have the ability to load a preview of Win 8 or desire to go through the hassle,
Either Microsoft is very good about keeping the media at bay, or there is very little info or activity going on regarding App development. Is there a current App count and list somewhere of what's been developed and what's in the works. Last count I heard MS was at about 3600 US apps last week, but were expected to hit the 5k goal. So what's the latest.
Exciting and frustrating at the same time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Found an interesting site regarding the Apps on Windows Store
http://www.winappupdate.com/
Here's the lowdown from the sire:
"As of today, there are 7,873 Windows Store apps available worldwide. Of these, 88% (6,964) are free – mirroring the percentages first seen much earlier this month. The number of apps added per day has been rather significant, and includes 459 apps worldwide that have been added since I polled yesterday.
Almost all applications are available in both x86 and x64 architectures. Only two apps appear to solely target Windows RT (ARM), 31 target only Windows 8 x64 and don’t have Windows 8 x86 or Windows RT support. The gap I first noticed some time ago is still there, however. While almost all apps support Windows 8 on x86 and x64, 6% of apps do not support Windows RT on ARM at this time. This may change after GA when developers can test on Windows RT systems – but it may always stay lower, reflecting the challenges of developing WinRT apps on Windows RT that I have heard from several developers.
Speaking of developers, there are now 3,367 distinct developers who have apps available on the store at the current time.
Of the total number of apps added since I polled yesterday, 219 were added to the US Windows Store (likely added to others as well). Something interesting happened this week, though. More apps have been added to the Chinese Windows Store than US English. As a result, the US Windows Store is now the second largest, at 4,516 Windows Store apps – while the Chinese Windows Store features 4,795 Windows Store apps."
So it looks like MS will hit their goal of 5,000 US apps by launch. The question is how many quality apps will there be at launch.
But with Bluestacks for RT officially announced, then we will also have all the Android apps as well, but not sure how that will work as far as implementation.
At last someone other than me has pointed out about bluestacks lol
lumpaywk said:
At last someone other than me has pointed out about bluestacks lol
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think you turned me onto Bluestacks (LOL). If it works as intended and is fluid (Not a crummy emulator) then that is a game changer for app counts with all the "fluff" apps which everybody seems to want.
I personally don't need a bunch of fluff apps and it looks like the majority of what I want is alreadiy planned for RT or released already.
Hey everyone. Looking at trying to pickup a Surface RT during the black friday sale. I primarily want to use it for taking notes in class. What do you all think of the original RT with the 8.1 update? Worth getting it, or should I spend my money on something else?
On a side note: It's between a Surface RT (at black friday prices), a chromebook, and the Nvidia Note 7. I can see the pros and cons of all the devices, but a) I am entrenched in google's ecosystem (gmail, google keep, google drive, google music, etc) and b) I am going to school for computer engineering.
So what do you all think?
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It will work great for notes if you get the Type Cover, there is no active pen support. But it's not that great with Google services. You will have a much better experience using Outlook, OneNote och Skydrive with the Surface.
Sorry I'm not much help here, never used a chromebook nor the Nvidia =).
I used my RT for note taking for a few months before moving on to the pro model, and it was a pretty good experience. I would have a notes doc open in reader and copy/paste stuff from it into one note and type additional info in various combinations. If you are interested in using google docs on the RT, that may dissuade you, as it's quite laggy. I had no such issues just using the office software for that sort of thing. For google apps, the only workaround I really had to look for was a google voice app, the rest of what I use was just fine via browser and the built in mail app.
I ended up moving to a Pro due to a few limitations that I ran into:
- inability to run the e-testing software we use on the RT (lockdown browser and a security.exe file)
- desire to do more pen writing for some notes (really just chemical reactions and such, things that don't lend themselves to typing)
If you have a laptop as a backup for any software you need on your course then yeah. Chances are on a computer engineering course it will be useless for anything other than a glorified pen and paper replacement (as would the other 2 choices).
As long as you are ok using Google Apps in a browser only, an RT can work well enough (I can't comment on the rest of your use cases). My employer uses Google Apps for Education as our primary email so I've done it. If a jailbreak is released for RT 8.1 I am curious how well (or not) Outlook RT will work with gmail, especially since I won't be able to run the sync software Windows 7 and previous could (I don't know if it works with Windows 8).
domboy said:
As long as you are ok using Google Apps in a browser only, an RT can work well enough (I can't comment on the rest of your use cases). My employer uses Google Apps for Education as our primary email so I've done it. If a jailbreak is released for RT 8.1 I am curious how well (or not) Outlook RT will work with gmail, especially since I won't be able to run the sync software Windows 7 and previous could (I don't know if it works with Windows 8).
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You have always been able to add IMAP accounts in outlook and GMail offers full IMAP support.
MS Office can save in open document formats (ODT instead of doc/docx etc). Google docs also use these formats under the hood or can at least attempt (albeit poorly) to import .doc and .docx etc anyway. Could certainly download your file, open it in MS Office, save it in open office formats, re-upload to google drive. In my experience MS Word outputting to ODT works better than google docs or libre office importing DOC and DOCX
SixSixSevenSeven said:
If you have a laptop as a backup for any software you need on your course then yeah. Chances are on a computer engineering course it will be useless for anything other than a glorified pen and paper replacement (as would the other 2 choices).
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My original plan was chrome book + chrome remote desktop to my gaming PC at home, but the surface and tegra note 7 wouldn't provide that. Then again, the surface is a bit stronger in the notes department and portability, and the tegra note would excel at math notes (its a math and physics heavy degree)
Unfortunately, my budget is very limiting, and I cannot get multiple devices. I have an old netbook loaded with my sata2 ssd, and mint Linux right now, but the performance is meh, and the resolution is abysmal...
My desktop should suffice for specialized software, but I am really needing a device for notes (I write slow, but type fast, at least with a real keyboard).
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bluefalcon13 said:
My original plan was chrome book + chrome remote desktop to my gaming PC at home, but the surface and tegra note 7 wouldn't provide that. Then again, the surface is a bit stronger in the notes department and portability, and the tegra note would excel at math notes (its a math and physics heavy degree)
Unfortunately, my budget is very limiting, and I cannot get multiple devices. I have an old netbook loaded with my sata2 ssd, and mint Linux right now, but the performance is meh, and the resolution is abysmal...
My desktop should suffice for specialized software, but I am really needing a device for notes (I write slow, but type fast, at least with a real keyboard).
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk
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Surface would do remote desktop just fine. Windows RT being a near straight port of windows 8 to ARM (minus the desktop lockdown) does include RDP support which is the default windows remote desktop software, although there are 3rd party RDP servers for OSX and linux too. RDP is very effective.
You also have VNC as an alternative to RDP. There are VNC clients and servers for most major platforms including android and jailbroken windows RT devices (this does limit to windows RT 8.0, although looks like the 8.1 jailbreak isnt far off).
Although in all honesty. I wouldnt rely on remote desktop access.
Will you be returning home each day and can you also use the machines at university? You may be able to get away without bringing your own full x86 machine. Otherwise I would seriously be considering a laptop or x86 windows tablet. There is the ASUS T100 for £350 which is a windows 8.1 10" tablet with a proper keyboard docking option too and using intel bay trail, but at £350 you can get a laptop with a bigger screen (also important) which is morepowerful too.
There are people on my course that bring surface RT's (and a few pro's too) and take notes in lectures, but they all end up fighting for lab computers the rest of the time and I dont think you can rely on remote desktop always being available or having a low enough latency, not to mention some university or college firewalls blocking it.